--- Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> DSR wrote:
>
> >And this is why it is time for gay activists to quit acting like
> >every day is Stonewall and start acting like sophisticated
> political
> >strategists.
>
> Hmm, whaddya mean by this? I'm in the mood to smash some stuff
> right now.
I have to question how the timing of the Oklahoma action will benefit gay rights under the new administration. It appears that the plaintiffs, or their handlers, decided to go forward with their lawsuit with no regard their suit will now be heard in light of how this national election turned out.
Lamda Legal is probably going to be involved with it, if not already, then at some point. But in conversations I had with a Lambda attorney at an HRC gala last year, it appears that Lambda is usually brought in after a couple or local activists get the bug to litigate and make a public issue of it for themselves, rather than considering the long term strategy of getting marriage laws reformed. The Lambda attorney confirmed what I had suspected, that with no organized, well-timed actions in jurisdictions specifically chosen for their benefits, we were chasing out tails and running from one litigant to the next, putting out fires and stretching resources. In the process, the case law that was coming out was not always doing us any favors. And in the mean time, it was giving the social conservatives time, ammunition and sympathy on their side.
Initially, organized GLTB organizations like HRC tried to counsel patience to the GLTB populace, knowing that a radical push towards gay marriage during Bush's first term would impede progress on ENDA and a host of other gltb affirmative legislation. I always felt the real impetus needed to be on adding perceived gender orientation to ENDA and similar legislation, making a universally equal non-discrimination clause, and also easier to appeal to heterosexuals on the fence. Unfortunately, ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act)remains an "idea" and not a reality. Tom DeLay has pledged to kill it, once and for all.
My point is the spontaneous hoopla (a la spontaneous Stonewall riot)that seems to emerge haphazardly in the gay community over the marriage initiatives lacks a strategic plan for getting that very goal accomplished and, instead, fails to capitalize on the issues that could be strengthened, if not won, now while setting the foundation for a marriage fight when the timing is more fertile.
The constitutional amendment and it's language as it stands right now, would obliterate decades of hard work, and it will take years to undo the damage. But what else is on hold in the mean time?
Example: Which do you think more Americans - and I'm not limiting this to social conservatives; I mean all Americans - would be more inclined to support, or, at the very least, not impede: The right of a gay person to hold a job and work or the right of gay couples to get married?
As it stands after this election, I'd suggest that even in a consevative environment, more Americans would be more inclined to support a gay person's right to work. But critical opportunities towards securing this basic right are being ignored and wasted while resources are spent fighting for gay marriage and fanning the flames of the religious conservatives' wet dreams of setting back gay rights. Like the presidential campaign, we are trying to overcome our enemies by ignoring them when what we should be doing is strenghtening our base by encouraging common ground issues like the right to work.
In Houston during the 2000 mayoral election, then mayor Lee Brown, in an effort to split votes and garner support for himself, proposed a measure that would insure domestic partner benefits for gltb city employees. Yi ha! went all of the local activists, and gay elected officials, too, until someone raised their hand and said, uh... yeah, but there isn't a non-discrimination policy in effect, and if we get the benefits, we can still be fired or harrassed by our bosses if we dare ask about getting them.
DUH. The classic cart before the horse. That is, I'm afraid, what we are doing - at this specific time, no less - with our to-hell-with-them all attitude about pushing forward the gay marriage fight.
- Deborah